Witnessing the Olympics firsthand is truly an experience of a lifetime. Oklahoma couple Zane and Kristin Copeland were willing to endure two grueling days of travel just for that experience.
The couple spent 50 hours traveling in order to reach Rio in time for Friday’s opening ceremony. Their trek took them through four countries, five flights, and six airports.
The Copelands flew out of Dallas Tuesday and arrived in Rio two days and 8,000 miles later. Heading to the stadium for Friday night’s opening ceremony, they purchased last-minute tickets from a scalper for $100 each. The couple was halted by security and informed that their tickets were fake.
Not so surprising considering the price. To make matters worse, the Copelands could have flown direct just a day later but would have missed the Opening Ceremony, which they missed anyhow. The only silver lining is the money saved. The direct flights would have cost them $5,000 each as opposed to the $1,100 per person they paid for their 7,750 mile trip.
Security had a soft spot for the swindled Americans and allowed them to wait inside a press pen so that they could greet some of Team USA.